Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson has enjoyed a visit to Didcot Cineworld to see the new Barbie movie.
Barbie starring Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling and Will Ferrell, has earned nearly £602 million globally, making it one of the highest-grossing films of the year.
Mr Johnson and his wife Carrie are now living in a nine-bedroom mansion in Brightwell-cum-Sotwell near Wallingford.
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The 400-year-old property is set in nearly five acres, which already include its own walled garden, tennis court, and three-sided moat.
Didcot Cineworld cost £4.5m and opened in 2007.
Following his cinema trip Mr Johnson said in his column for Mail Online: "If you think that you will be left cold by a kaleidoscopic explosion of pastel plastic kitsch; if you never saw the point of Barbie, with her puzzling anatomy, let alone the point of her hopeless chum called Ken —then relax.
"I have anticipated your needs. For an outlay of only £11 per ticket at the superb local cinema in Didcot, hub of the universe, I have seen and foresuffered all."
He added: "There is quite a lot of stuff in the middle about gender conflict, and the war between the Barbies and the Kens, and I must confess that I briefly, now and then, allowed my eyelids to close.
"But I have reached the age when you can not only absorb what is going on but also actively enjoy yourself, even when you are half (or completely) asleep."
Mr Johnson concluded: "I hesitate to give away the end, but what does Barbie say, when she eventually flees for the real world? She enters a doctor’s clinic and announces — in the pay-off line of the film — ‘I’m here to see my gynaecologist’.
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"That’s what the movie is. It’s a satire on the tragic plastic sterility of Barbie the doll and a great Mussolini-esque rallying cry for human fecundity."
And it’s all driven by money, naturally. If no one has any babies, you won’t sell any dolls.
The world’s second-largest cinema chain said it was applying for administration for the London-listed company, which will see shares in the firm suspended.
Cineworld has said the move will not impact any of the 128 cinemas it has in the UK or Ireland.
Cineworld said last month: “Cineworld continues to operate its global business and cinemas as usual without interruption and this will not be affected by the entry of Cineworld Group plc into administration.
“The group and its brands around the world – including Regal, Cinema City, Picturehouse and Planet – are continuing to welcome customers to cinemas as usual.
“The group continues to honour the terms of all existing customer membership programmes, including Regal Unlimited and Regal Crown Club in the United States and Cineworld Unlimited in the UK.”
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Andy is the Trade and Tourism reporter for the Oxford Mail and you can sign up to his newsletters for free here.
He joined the team more than 20 years ago and he covers community news across Oxfordshire.
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